


i prayed this word: i want

by lvdym



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:13:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lvdym/pseuds/lvdym
Summary: Love comes in unexpected places; Bella didn’t expect to find love in the home of Vampire Royalty, but fate is a tricky devil
Relationships: Bella/Sulpicia/Athenodora/Didyme
Comments: 21
Kudos: 127





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Posting this is my birthday present to myself, I’ve been working on it for a while It’s very different to my usual style, so I hope there’s place for it here

Three visions awaited, faces unreadable. One ethereal, one severe, one lovely. It had not been what Bella had been expecting as she’d trudged through tunnel after tunnel; though, in retrospect, she wasn’t entirely certain that she’d expected this quantity of spelunking, either. She couldn’t help the blood rushing to her cheeks - she tried to tell herself it was just exertion, but an undercurrent of her couldn’t help but think: But you, O blessed one, smiled in your deathless face. 

The ethereal one was in the middle of the trio - sitting centre stage, eyes drawn towards her like moths to a flame. She was honey-haired, and golden. She looked at them with interest as they entered, covered in a red-violet - what Bella could only consider to be a - gown. She looked picture perfect, like a doll. Except for the eyes.

To her right sat the severe one, blonde, too, but like ice. Pale and sharp. Her eyes made Bella think of marksmen and laser sights. She was cool steel to the other’s honeyed spice. Bella wouldn’t particularly pride herself on her ability to read people but she could feel the blonde’s inorexible aura from her place halfway across the domed room. She wore high contrast - a white shirt buttoned to a high collar tucked into wide legged midnight black trousers. Bella looked at her and thought: weapon. 

The lovely sat on the furthest left. She had a face like coming home; tanned and dark haired. Her hair fell in tight, wild curls around her shoulders, shiny and soft. Everything about her oozed warmth and honey, down to the bright silk she wore. There was something special about her, and Bella could spot it from across the room, something warm and cosy leeching off her like heat into an otherwise cold room. 

As they approached the middle of the domed room, Bella looked over the trio of women, before glancing at Edward, as if he would somehow be able to answer all of her questions with nothing more than a look, but they were far too complex for that. They stopped walking, and Bella nervously looked to him again - partly for the reassurance and mostly out of her building sense of dread. 

The ethereal one rose from her seat, approaching Edward and Bella. Bella looked between the blonde and the bronze. She let out a breath as she felt a sudden cold wrapped around her wrist, and then her body was yanked behind Edward. His grip on her wrist was a little too rough, and she rubbed over the tender area as soon as he let go. She peered out from around him, at the blonde woman in the centre of the room, looking commanding and regal, despite her short height. 

“Edward,” said she, sounding exceedingly pleasant but still full of threat, her accent difficult to place, “I did counsel you that your intentions were hasty.”

“So you did, Sulpicia,” Edward replied, his voice terse. 

“Am I not wise? How magnificent it is that Isabella is alive and well!” 

The blonde - Sulpicia, apparently - clapped her hands together once, a happy smile on her face, which soon dropped into cool indifference. Her entire demeanour seemed to shift from warm fire to cold ice; Bella couldn’t say it didn’t suit her, in the woman-in-charge kind of way - luxurious woman, ruinous god. 

“Of course this presents some issues, doesn’t it, Athenodora?” 

Bella watched as the woman - more icicle than person, she was sure - shifted slightly as the room’s attention shifted onto her. Her face did not move from its stony mask, impossible to read. 

She spoke in a voice that made Bella shiver, and think of cold, sharp steel: “It does.”

Athenodora’s red eyes locked onto Bella, even through Edward’s body. Bella shuddered, and tried hard not to think about all the death those eyes represented - how hers wouldn’t be anything special.

Edward, unnecessarily, cleared his throat. “I don’t see how,” he said, with all the recklessness of eternal youth, “I wasn’t actually exposed. Sulpicia, you were right, and I’m more than willing to accept it, and be thankful you didn’t accept my request.” 

“You know better than this, Edward. I know you do,” Sulpicia sounded like a chiding parent, overly fond and patient. “That’s not currently the issue, is it?” 

“I won’t let it happen to her! Not to her!” 

“Then you already know my response. Would you rather her alive, or not?”

“It’s no life that I’d be sentencing her to.”

“So you choose definite death over the blessings of immortality. Interesting.”

“I’d choose it over damnation.”

“Damnation?” Sulpicia looked delighted at that revelation. Her hands clasped together like a child. “Even more interesting!”

“You would take delight in my moral quandaries.”

Sulpicia looked as close to rolling her eyes as was physically possible without actually doing so. “Really?” she asked, rather blandly.

The final of the trio spoke up. “I think it’s romantic,” she said, honey-voiced. “Though,” she added, a little more playfully, “isn’t it usually the hero sacrificing himself for the heroine? Not sacrificing the heroine herself.” 

A flicker of a smile crossed over Athenodora’s face, and it lit it up in a way that resembled marble statues and goddesses of war. 

Sulpicia herself was less shy of hiding her smile. “Quite the romantic you are, Didyme,” she said, her fondness sounding genuine this time. 

“I merely appreciate a good story,” apparently-Didyme replied. 

“Don’t we all,” Sulpicia hummed, as though they were discussing something other than Bella’s imminent death. I was definitely right, she thought, my death is nothing special to these. “Edward, however, I must say - I can’t imagine Carlisle neglected your education on the ways of our world, not with how long he spent here. I don’t believe you’re ignorant, and that must mean you’re playing games with me. I don’t like that. I don’t appreciate that.” There was a sharpness to her words again, and it still seemed like a perfect match and ill-suited all at once. “You may be Carlisle’s exception but you are not ours.”

Bella shrunk back behind Edward, who seemed to glower at Sulpicia - the behaviour of a child coddled by their father figure and fully believing that’s just the way the world was. 

“You - you can’t just- who will she tell?”

“That doesn’t matter. Her knowledge is an infringement of the law in and of itself, not only on the contingency she tells somebody.” Sulpicia paused for a moment, considering, calculating. “I will allow Carlisle to be present for these dealings, considering our amicable relationship, but this is on one caveat: Isabella must remain here. I will not tolerate any risk, and it is clear that your coven has infringed the law and thus requires a trial. The chance of Isabella revealing our truths to others, while you may posit is zero, is still too high for her to return with you.”

“No!” The word ripped out of Edward, violent and incredibly fearful. Bella couldn’t help but wonder if it was something in Sulpicia’s thoughts which made him react so. 

“I’m being incredibly lenient, because of my goodwill,” Sulpicia said, with a shark’s smile. Bella couldn’t decide if she suited the softness or the sharpness more, but it was clear the other woman oscillated between them with practiced ease. Bella found herself wanting to know her true face, the same way you wanted to know who the murderer was. So much it was consuming, so much it was bad for you.

“You… you’re plotting!” Edward struggled to find the right words and drag them out of his chest, and Bella couldn’t help but press against his back - she wasn’t sure what on earth was going on, all she was aware of was that Edward - regardless of how long he’d left her for - was synonymous with safety.

“We will not stand for insolence,” Athenodora’s sharp, gunmetal voice cut through the air with a practiced precision. Her aura was of dutiful competence, and efficient confidence. It was clear, even to Bella, that she was a person exceedingly used to being obeyed. 

“Athenodora is correct,” Sulpicia said, “we are not here to negotiate. As we say is as it will be done. Are we clear?”

Edward swallowed unnecessarily, and rather regretfully, muttered, “...yes.” He turned his head to look behind him at Bella, who met his gaze. They exchanged a look, a look of love, and concern, and eternal devotion. Bella grabbed onto the fabric of the hooded cape covering his frame, so hard that she watched her knuckles as they turned white.

“Excellent,” said Sulpicia, much more jovially. “Isabella, I’ll have someone show you to where you’ll be staying.”

“Wait,” Bella said, finding her voice throughout the fear freezing her blood, “I can’t! I can’t stay here! What about my family, my friends-”

“I’m sure the Cullen coven will come up with a suitable reason for your absence,” Didyme said, delicately cutting Bella off. “Felix, do show Bella to a guest chamber,” she instructed, waving her hand to Felix. 

Felix stepped towards Bella, holding his hands behind his back as he waited expectantly. Bella looked to Edward rather than making any move to follow the stranger, her face scrunched together in a mix of confusion and anxiety. Her blood felt somehow frozen and practically caffeinated. All of her muscles felt tense, ready to make a run for it. 

“It’ll be alright,” Edward said after a little bit of hesitation, his jaw tense. “It’s what needs to be done.” 

Bella reluctantly moved towards Felix, looking over her shoulder to Edward as she was led out of the room. Her footfalls were heavy compared to the surprisingly light-footed vampire. They left the vaulted chamber, into more of the same hallway they’d already been travelling through to get to the anteroom. Bella looked around, trying to take in every detail other than the imposing figure showing her where to go. Her heart refused to slow, her hands shaking enough that she balled them into tight fists. 

“Do you think I’m going to eat you?” Asked Felix with a trademarked smirk and a strange accent, walking a little faster than Bella found comfortable. 

“I-- I-- what?” 

“Because I won’t,” he continued, as if Bella wasn’t the dictionary definition of confused. “Not after I’ve been told not to. So you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Uh, right,” Bella said, rubbing the back of her neck as she felt a blush flush through her body, still walking. He seemed …. nice, at least. Nice for a human eating vampire, that was. “Can… can I ask you what’s going to happen to me?” 

Felix reached the room, her room, she supposed, and opened the door, gesturing inside. “I… suppose I can take some time to clarify things for your ease of mind,” he said, as Bella moved into the bedroom and he followed in after her after a little pause. 

Bella looked around the room; it was ornate, gilded - the bed had a carefully wrought headboard, the chair was covered in lush fabric, the furniture all crafted out of a dark wood, with intricately carved details. She took a seat on the edge of the bed, hands brushing over the lush fabric. She looked at Felix, looming above her, and her eyes flickered to the chair. He took the hint, and took a seat. 

“Now, little human,” he said, intoning the phrase as though it was a term of endearment and not a slightly alarming thing to hear. “Begin your questioning.”

Bella sighed and chewed her lower lip, she smoothed a hand over her damp jeans and looked over Felix. “Okay,” she said, “I.. thank you for doing this. But what’s happening? Why am I staying here? Where’s Edward going? I don’t understand.”

“Many questions,” Felix commented lightly, even though he was a bit too still for Bella to feel entirely at ease with him. “I’ll do my best to explain. Are you aware that your knowledge of us is against our laws?”

“Yes, but, but nobody told me! I figured it out by myself! It’s nobody’s fault!”

“I never said it was anybody’s fault, little human, just that you know and that is illegal. It doesn’t matter if you found it yourself or if somebody told you. You still know.”

“I-- I suppose that makes sense,” Bella admitted reluctantly. 

“It does,” said Felix, with an abundance of assuredness. “And because of that the Cullens must come here in order for an, an,” he paused a moment, trying to pluck the right word from his brain, “inquiry, I suppose.”

“I still don’t understand why I couldn’t have gone with Edward,” Bella said, barely able to bring herself to make eye contact, instead she methodically pulled at a loose thread on her t-shirt, keeping her hands busy. It was easier to focus on that than to let her mind wander into how messed up of a situation she was in. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to centre herself once again. Anything and everything she could do to stop herself from panicking seemed like a good idea to her right now. 

“As upsetting as a phrase as I’m sure this will be, little human,” Felix said, as though ‘little human’ was itself not an upsetting phrase, “you are a guarantee.”

“A … guarantee?”

“It is the best way I have to describe it,” he said, “to make sure they will actually come back and not have us have to chase them halfway across the globe. And, obviously, to ensure that you can’t tell anyone.”

“But I wouldn’t tell anyone!” Bella protested. 

“Regardless, that is just your word,” Felix said, placatingly. “And we cannot run even the slightest risk of that happening.” Felix let out a low sigh, a startlingly human action from a noticeably inhuman man. “You must surely understand the nature of our secrecy, and its importance.”

“I-I mean, Edward mentioned it a little. That, y’know, the only law there really is is to keep everything secret,” Bella admitted, feeling like this was something she should keep close to her chest, but she was tired and confused, and everything came spilling out of her. It was too late to keep it bottled up and held to her chest, nice and safe. “But I disagree that I’m somehow inherently more untrustworthy because I’m human.”

“That is… absolutely not what I’m saying. How do you say?” He paused, thinking. “Ah! Yes! You have the wrong end of the stick, I believe is the phrase.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Bella said, a little distractedly as she tried to absorb this new information - it felt a lot like trying to add more clothes into an already stuffed suitcase. “So- it’s not because I’m human?” she asked, and then - because Felix seemed the kind of man you could be honest with - added, “because it’s not like it’s not a bit scary.”

Felix let out a laugh, before covering his mouth to try and smother the sound. “You spend…. A lot of time with vampires, and we’re the scary ones? I guarantee even the weakest amongst us could go head to head with that boy of yours in terms of control, and you trust him just fine.”

“But I know him!”

“I suppose you’re right,” said Felix, sensing he wasn’t going to get anywhere with the issue. “How about this. I’ll go scavenge some sleeping clothes for you and you can unwind. Is there anything else you need?”

Bella thought about food for a moment, before deciding that her stomach was far too tied up to eat. She was fairly sure it would just make her sick if she tried. “Maybe… maybe a book?” she asked hesitantly. 

“A book,” Felix confirmed. “Any requests?” 

“I’m not too fussy,” said Bella. “Just anything. Reading helps me relax. Maybe some poetry?” she suggested. 

Felix nodded in a wise way, despite not being particularly sage. “Okay. I’ll see if I can’t wrangle something in English, for you. Unless, you don’t happen to speak Latin, do you? Or Greek?”

Bella shook her head. 

“English it is,” he said, a little resigned. “I’ll be back shortly.”

He made a quick exit - Bella’s eyes barely registered the sight. Bella let out a sigh, and ran her hands through her hair. She reached out to the footboard of the bed, and traced over the carved patterns with gentle fingers. How old is this? She wondered. How many decades, maybe centuries ago, did the hands that made these carvings live? It was certainly good craftsmanship, as far as Bella’s untrained eye could tell. 

Her mind wandered, thinking of the life this woodworker may have lived, a flight of fancy into a historical world. Her mind barely registered the time passing - not that it was particularly long between Felix’s abrupt disappearance and his later arrival - announced with a soft knock on the door. 

It was enough to break Bella’s train of thought, and she cleared her throat. “Uh… come … in?” she said, uncertainly. The door opened, sure enough, to reveal Felix, with a bundle of clothes and a modest stack of books. 

“Here,” he said, as he made his way into the room and set down the books on the nightstand. “I thought perhaps options might be better,” he said, and neglected to mention that these were books from Didyme’s personal library. “Just take care of them, they’re …. Old. everything here is old.” He shrugged, and put down the pile of clothes next to Bella. “And some sleepwear for you. I’ll take my leave proper, now,” he said as he made his way - human pace - back towards the door. “If you need anything… well, just saying my name louder than normal will be sure to alert me, and I’ll come as soon as I’m able, okay?” he asked, and didn’t exit until Bella’s swift, sharp nod. 

As soon as Felix departed, Bella made short work of undressing and putting on the pyjamas - they fit a little oddly, but they were soft, warm, and dry, and Bella couldn’t find it within herself to care about anything other than those criteria. She collapsed onto the bed as soon as she could, even if it were only a little past midday, and reached out for the books. 

She examined the pile: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Le Morte d’Arthur, Sappho’s poetry, selected poems of Yeats, and Rossetti, and Edgar Allan Poe… in all honesty, far more options than she had been expecting. She carefully selected the translation of Sappho, and put the others back on the nightstand with gentle hands. Bella settled herself under the cover, into the comfiest position she could manage, and cracked open the book, soon finding herself lost in Sappho’s pretty words.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support. Here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long.

Sulpicia looked over Athenodora and Didyme as they were all sprawled in the walled garden, and smirked - it was the kind of expression her face was built for, an undercurrent of deviousness that underlined the cherubic features. She thought about a lot of things, very quickly. “What an interesting time we’re in,” she commented. 

“Please, Sulpicia,” said Didyme in an exasperated groan. “I am begging you not to scheme for just one date night. Just one.” Her tone took on an almost pleading quality. As far a Didyme was concerned, it was time to take time for her and her wives - they’d instructed Felix to take care of the human, and in all honesty it wasn’t all that often that they were required with minimal notice. Not very many people dropped in for unannounced visits. 

“I thought you liked fantasy, Didyme,” Athenodora said, with a tone so amusedly sharp it was like a well-cared for blade. There was still undeniable affection in her tone, a fondness that not many people saw. 

“You two are absolutely terrible and don’t appreciate my genius,” Sulpicia said, in a faux-haughty tone, and then, a little sulkier with a matching pout: “and they’re not fantastical.” 

“Of course not, dear,” Athenodora said, with a surprising amount of patience. 

Didyme chimed in, “anything you say, dear.”

“You two bullying me is supremely unfair, and also, oh, I am going to move into a nunnery and shun you both. I’ve just decided.”

“But Sulpicia,” Didyme practically purred, “what on earth would we do without you?”

“Don’t say that,” said Athenodora, “she doesn’t need the ego boost.”

Sulpicia, rather than dignifying them with a verbal response, decided to escalate her sulking and crossed her arms over her chest with an even bigger pout. She pointedly refused to look at either of them, but did her best not to break out into the smile that was so desperate to cross over her face. She couldn’t help how much her partners lifted her spirits - how happy she felt around them, for reasons more than just Didyme’s gift. 

Athenodora poked Sulpicia while Didyme wandered off for a moment, unquestioned. Athenodora’s blonde hair glowed silver in the sunlight, and it reminded Sulpicia a little of the moon, as she turned herself to face her wife. 

“Have you decided to be nice to me again?” Sulpicia asked, her voice soft and empty of any real upset, as Athenodora knew it would be. 

“I’m always nice to you, but Didyme went somewhere, and I dislike being without one of your affections,” Athendora said, and in rare affection nuzzled her face into Sulpicia’s neck. 

Sulpicia took the opportunity the moment she saw it - twining around Athenodora, clinging to her like a snake. “I like it when you’re needy.”

“I’m not.”

“You are. And that’s okay. You’re only human….. Well, metaphorically.”

“You’re exasperating,” said Athenodora, far from exasperated. Instead, she was smiling fondly. 

Didyme returned, a fistful of violets held to her chest. “Aw,” she said, “how am I supposed to put the violets in your lap if you’re busy cuddling with Dora?” she asked Sulpicia, with a little pout. Instead, she came behind Athenodora, kneeling carefully on the ground. She momentarily placed the violets into her lap, and gently combed her fingers through Athenodora’s hair. She popped a kiss onto the top of Sulpicia’s head, who was busy nestling against Athenodora’s neck, before she started braiding the flowers into the almost-white strands of her hair. 

The trio sat in silence for a while, merely enjoying each other’s company, the way familiarity is comforting. Athenodora would be blushing if she could -- that was generally her reaction to her wives doting on her. 

After a companionable silence, Didyme finished up her work, and smiled. “All done, my violet-tressed love,” she said sweetly. 

Athenodora, as it turned out, was intensely glad she couldn’t blush. 

Sulpicia pouted, and pressed a light kiss to Athenodora’s cheek before she unwound herself and kissed Didyme’s forehead softly. “We really do need to have a discussion of how we’re going to deal with this situation,” she said, regretfully serious. 

“I know,” Didyme pouted, “but I bet Dora’s already got plans A through Z.”

“Implying I only have twenty-six? Interesting.”

Didyme giggled. Sulpicia rolled her eyes. “Back to business. Come on.”

“Okay,” Didyme said, “okay. What do you think we should do?”

Sulpicia hummed in thought. “We… definitely need to treat her well, naturally. Not only because Carlisle is our friend,” she said, ignoring Athenodora’s derisive scoff, “but I won’t have it said we act before a trial is had. It’s hardly a secret that there are those that would love to undermine us.”

“Of course that wouldn’t do,” Athenodora said, idly fiddling with her flowered braid. “I wouldn’t call our rule tenuous, but it isn’t without threat. Nevermind that Carlisle in particular has a lot of friends. It most definitely isn’t worth the risk.” 

“Plus she might be fun,” Didyme said, “it’s been a while since we’ve had someone new come in - not since Gianna, and she barely counts anyway - maybe I’ll spend some time with her. See why young Edward is so taken with her.” 

“Ohhhh, spend some time with her?” Sulpicia asked, nudging Athenodora gently. “Do you think we should be worried, Dora?” 

“Entirely worried,” Athenodora agreed, without nearly as much dramatism. “Why else would the human be fun?”

“Only potentially!,” Didyme pouted. “And I’m not so sure that I’m a fan of this being directed at me and not Sulpicia,” Didyme said, but with a cheerful grin nonetheless. “But I don’t see,” said she, a little more seriously again, “that endearing her to us as being a bad thing. And if I go first, there’s my gift to make her more comfortable. But let’s be honest, sending Dora first would be disastrous, and sending Sulpicia is liable to end in losing Isabella somewhere in the castle.”

Both of the others conceded these points - they were not unaware of their flaws as (un-)living creatures, even if the only people they’d admit them to were each other. 

Didyme continued: “it makes sense, as far as I’m concerned, both for me to be the first and to do it altogether. You heard what Edward said - he can’t read her mind. That could be a powerful ally to make, should it come to it.”

“I’m proud of how far your strategy work has come,” Athenodora said, with a sharp nod - there was fondness in the way she caressed her braid.

Didyme laughed softly. “I’ll endear her to me, at least,” she decreed. “She’s human, honestly, how hard can it be? With my gift? I think the poor dear needs a little happiness in her life, don’t you? Don’t we all?”

“It’s still only accounting for tomorrow,” Sulpicia said lazily, blinking slowly like a cat. “What about between now and when the rest of the Cullen coven comes?”

Didyme sighed heavily as Athenodora started to trace gentle patterns over the arm closest to her, “must we do this now, Sulpicia, my darling one?” she asked, and leaned against the golden woman. She turned her head, and kissed the underside of Sulpicia’s jaw tenderly, soft and full up of all the different ways Didyme loved her. “O beautiful, o graceful one.”

“Are you quoting Sappho at me to get me worked up?” Sulpicia asked, a rumble hidden somewhere deep within her chest. She stroked Didyme’s dark curls softly with one hand, and reached out to take Athenodora’s free one with her other. Sulpicia brought Athenodora’s long-fingered hand to her mouth and kissed the back of her palm gently, letting out a soft sigh. 

“Maybe. Maybe I just like Sappho. I’ll never tell,” Didyme replied, carefully kissing the underside of Sulpicia’s jaw. “Maybe I’m just using all the wiles I have to get you off the topic and back to paying attention to your wives.” 

“That is not a hardship, believe me,” Sulpicia said, with unparalleled tenderness. “I’m merely trying to be practical.”

“I’m sure Dora appreciates it,” Didyme said, and Athenodora nodded in agreement with Didyme’s assessment of her priorities, “but it’s still date night. It’s time for kissing and loving, not plotting and scheming, thank you.”

Sulpicia let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh that the other two knew immediately was entirely fabricated, and not just because they didn’t need to breathe. “Kissing and loving it is, I suppose, provided Dora has no objections,” she hedged, with the foreknowledge of someone who knew their partner as well as they knew themselves. Better, even. 

Athenodora shook her head, with the selfsame kind of knowledge - once Didyme had decided upon ‘kissing and loving’, it was as impossible to get her off the topic as moving the sun. Pass me a lever; the thought rose from nowhere, and Athendora let out a little amused chuckle. “I’m not about to get into a battle of wills with either of you again,” she said, shaking her head fondly - it wasn’t just that, they knew. Athenodora longed for the same softness, she just refused to verbalise it. 

Didyme smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around her two wives, and squeezing. “Excellent,” she purred with all the affectation of the vampiric seductress. The trio laughed, Athenodora’s amusement a little more reticent than the others’. 

Sulpicia shook her head, and kissed Didyme’s cheek softly, tenderly. “How are we ever to stay on track when you insist on distraction?”

Didyme smiled, and ducked her head so she could kiss Sulpicia’s neck, her teeth gently scraping over where her jugular once thrummed. She refused to give an answer, instead delighting in the shiver that emanated from the honey-blonde. She retracted, slowly, with a very smug smile. 

Sulpicia rolled her eyes, and reached out a hand to cup Athenodora’s chin, her touch soft and sweet. She brought her wife’s face closer to her own, closing the distance between them, anticipation thrumming through Athenodora. 

“Dora,” Sulpicia whispered, Didyme watching them closely. Athenodora’s eyes fluttered shut, her face the picture of desire - a portrait only ever seen by her wives. Sulpicia’s lips met with Athenodora’s in a sweet kiss. Athenodora pulled back a little, enough space to breathe - or at least it would have been had she needed to do so.

“I really love you,” she said; it was an uncharacteristic confession, but one that felt fitting of the tender air that had descended upon the three spouses. 

“I know,” Sulpicia said, her tone less arrogant than it usually would be. It was said like a reassurance; a promise that these things didn’t need to be said aloud to be heard. 

Athenodora smiled a rare smile, and closed the space between her and Sulpicia once more, kissing her more passionately, more deeply. Sulpicia pressed closer to her, and Didyme moved out of the way to accommodate her wives. The two blondes lost themselves in each other, oozing out love and satisfaction in a way that made Didyme’s usual smile widen. 

Sulpicia let out a soft sound, pressing against Athenodora so much that the two of them fell the short distance to laying down - Sulpicia on top of Athenodora - in the soft grass, the kiss still unbroken. Didyme reached out a hand to stroke Sulpicia’s hair, her fingers slipping through the silken tresses. 

The two broke the kiss, Sulpicia nestling her head against Athenodora’s neck. Sulpicia rose a hand to Athenodora’s dress shirt, slowly sneaking open the buttons. Athenodora looked to Didyme’s ever-smiling face, and rolled her eyes.

“Yes, dear?” the blonde asked Didyme, raising an impatient eyebrow. 

“I love love,” Didyme teased with a breathless giggle, before shaking her head and moving, so she was laid down next to the two of them, her eyes turned upwards toward the sky. “I just like seeing you two together, is all,” she said, shrugging as best as anyone could while laying on a lawn. “There’s nothing better than your wives loving each other as much as you love the two of them.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Athenodora said, before making a choking, surprised sound. Sulpicia smiled smugly from where she was kissing the bare skin of Athenodora’s chest, her entire aura like the cat who got the cream. 

“You two talk too much,” Sulpicia complained. 

“Fine. No more talking,” Didyme said, with Athenodora’s nod of agreement. 

Then, they pounced.


	3. Chapter 3

Bella woke, with phrases tumbling around her head. ‘Luxurious woman’, and ‘ruinous god’, and ‘I am broken by longing’. She thought on them, on flowerdeep fields and violets, before she stretched out on the bed, muscles aching in that sleep-rich way. She coaxed herself into sitting up, relishing in the stream of Italian sunshine beaming through the gap in the curtains. She had so missed the sun, being in rainy, overcast Forks. 

She pulled herself out of bed, and padded over to the window, throwing the curtains all the way open, allowing the heat of the sunlight to radiate over her body. She peered out of the window, looking down into the walled garden, peppered with spots of bright colours and lush green. It eased some homesickness - the type she’d felt since she’d left Arizona. 

Bella heard a knock at the door, and didn’t immediately answer, still languid from sleep. 

“Bella?” she heard Felix voice through the other side of the door. “May I come in?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah, of course,” Bella said, thankful for a (minimally) familiar voice on the other side of the wood, which, Bella now noticed, was as intricately carved as the bed was. 

Said door slowly opened to reveal Felix, with yet another bundle of clothes, along with what seemed to be a bag of toiletry essentials. “I was instructed to bring you these,” he said, gesturing with his full arms to draw attention to them. “For your convenience. And I doubt you’d want to wear the same clothes you did yesterday. Though,” he said, rather magnanimously, “that is your choice. But we can send them off to be laundered, and ensure we acquire clothing more to your taste, also.” 

Bella crossed the room over to him, and gave him a weak smile. At least it was him, for sure, but at the same time seeing him registered a sense of anxiety within her - forced her to remember what situation she was in. “I- uh, thank you, Felix,” Bella said with her sleepy voice. “I appreciate it. If it’s not too much trouble, I mean.”

“No trouble at all,” Felix said, and passed Bella the bundle. “There is a hamper in your room,” he said, and gestured from the doorway in the direction of the hamper, “it will be emptied at some point today.” 

“Thank you,” Bella said again, a light flush crossing her cheeks - talking about literal dirty laundry was a little embarrassing. 

“Ah. One more thing, before I leave you to it. If you give me your dress size, I can have Gianna acquire some more fitting clothes for you sooner than any of us would be able to.” He said us with the kind of intonation which Bella immediately understood meant ‘us vampires’. 

“Uh,” Bella said, and flushed a little darker. “Right,” she said, and took a deep breath before giving him her clothing sizes. 

Felix nodded, once more, and gave her a friendly smile. “I’ll ensure they more closely resemble your own clothes, as I’m sure that you’re more comfortable with modern attire,” he said. “I’ll take my leave now.” He promptly did so, closing the door as he went. 

Bella surveyed the supplies that Felix had brought her, noting the inclusion of some toiletries. She hoped that meant there was an ensuite, but Felix had failed to mention any such thing. There was a towel, too, which was incredibly promising. Bella moved, and put her armful of items on the bed, running a hand as best as she could through her tangled hair. 

She scrunched her nose up as she finally noticed the clothes that he brought actually meant ‘dress’. “I can put up with it for one day,” she promised herself, swallowing thickly - she had no intention to test any boundaries while everything was still so up in the air. “It’s just one day.” 

With a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach at having to get changed into a dress, Bella looked around the room, moving over to a door that wasn’t the door out. She opened it, hoping to find a bathroom, and let out a heavy breath: alas, a closet. 

Bella shook her head, and continued on her exploration, locating another door and walking over to it. She let out a sound of victory having finally located the bathroom. It was immaculate, tiled in white with a surprisingly modern looking shower. She popped back to the bed, and gathered up what she needed, before making her way to the bathroom, and shower. 

Bella fiddled around with the controls, finding the perfect temperature before stripping off and stepping into the heavenly stream of water, relishing in the feeling after she’d run through a fountain, and not had a chance to clean it off her. She took her time, enjoying washing off the literal and figurative filth that had been plaguing her, allowing the hot stream of water to loosen her tight muscles. 

After she was done, she carefully dried herself off, her wet hair trailing down her back. She quickly wrapped it up in the towel and got dressed. The dress was made of luxurious fabric, and Bella let out a soft sigh - maybe the dress made up for being a dress by how nice it felt to wear it. 

She sighed, and looked around the room, “okay,” she breathed, and started to tidy up the minimal mess she’d made, putting her clothes away and making the bed, finding places for the toiletries, just trying to keep herself busy. She made quick work of it before she settled down with a book.

————————————————————————

Bella frowned from her position - curled up on the chair, reading - as she heard another knock. “Felix?” she asked again, her voice much less sleepy this time around. She stood up, memorised the page she was on, and carefully put her book down, moving towards the door. 

“I’m afraid not,” said a voice Bella only vaguely recognised as a voice she had heard before, but she couldn’t quite place it. “May I come in?” 

Bella, rather than answering verbally, opened the door - incredibly curious as to who was on the other side. She wasn’t expecting to see one of the rulers, Didyme, she thought, nor was she expecting the warmness that overtook her, ensorcelling her heart. She found, much to her surprise, that she was genuinely pleased to see her. “I- of course,” she said, opening the door wider and stepping aside. 

Didyme gave her a luxurious smile, and moved into the room. Didyme had, Bella recognised now, a far more approachable vibe than either Sulpicia or Athenodora had. Especially Athenodora. A little shudder ran through her remembering how … sharp she had seemed in the throne room. 

“I’m sure my appearance here is a little shock,” Didyme said politely, seeing the surprise drawn solidly over Isabella’s face. She paused for a moment, to allow the other woman to school her features and process the situation. She smoothed a hand over her summer silk dress, and gave another smile. “But let it not be said we are not hospitable and welcoming,” Didyme continued, “so I decided that there is nobody better than me to show you around on your first day!”

Bella couldn’t help the warmth that blossomed in Didyme’s presence. She wasn’t sure she wanted to think overmuch about it, about how easy it would be to sink into that warmth, that happiness. It reminded Bella of Phoenix, of home. “Right,” Bella said nervously, realising she’d been quiet for just a moment too long, and she should probably say something rather than just think about her feelings. “That sounds… welcoming,” she said lamely, before frowning at herself - really? That was the best she could come up with?

Didyme, to her credit, just plowed on ahead, ignoring any awkwardness in a move that endeared her to Bella significantly. “Good!” she said brightly, her smile uninterrupted. “Then I’ll give you a tour, though it’ll probably take a while for you to find your way around.”

“Thank you,” Bella said immediately, with her well-bred manners jumping to the forefront. She had little desire to make a fool of herself in front of anyone here, and even less one of the ruling bodies of the Volturi. 

“You don’t need to thank me yet,” Didyme said, looking over Isabella before smiling wider. “You suit that dress,” she commented, gesturing for Isabella to follow her out. 

Bella did so, but not before she blushed a bright pink. “Oh - it’s … it’s not mine,” she said, “I’m not sure whose it is. I don’t usually wear dresses, you see,” she rambled, fidgeting with the hemline of the dress as she followed Didyme down the hallway. 

“I see,” the Queen said, with an amused undercurrent to her voice. Bella’s blush deepened, but she didn’t feel as judged as she would have if it were Jessica, or Lauren, or Rosalie. She still just felt warm, and any homesickness she may have been feeling seemed to abate the longer she spent around the ebony haired Queen. 

They walked for a little while longer, in a surprisingly, to Isabella at least, companionable silence. Bella did her best to try and take in the route they were taking, but trying to discern the difference between very similar looking halls was enough to near give her a headache. 

Eventually they wound their way to a room, one Isabella immediately recognised upon entering - a kitchen. Didyme flicked on the lightswitch, illuminating the room much more, and gave Isabella an almost shy smile. “I thought you might be hungry,” she said, her voice soft. All it made Bella think of was honey, soft and sweet and practically oozing. 

“A little,” Bella admitted, her blush returning to her cheeks. In reciprocation for Didyme being tolerant with her, Bella pretended not to notice Didyme’s eyes darkening when she did. Strangely, it wasn’t as if Bella felt unsafe, though she wasn’t sure she’d quite classify it as ‘safe’ either. “That was … very considerate of you. Thank you.”

Didyme inclined her head, and stopped walking once they were in the kitchen. She gestured around herself uselessly. “I would even cook for you, but I am afraid I don’t know how,” she said, with the barest hint of distress to her words. Bella noticed, and found that endearing too. 

Bella smiled at the dark haired royal, and shook her head. “I’d never expect you to do that,” she protested. “But it’s a very sweet thought!”

“Would you mind terribly,” Didyme asked, pausing for effect, carefully making herself seem just shy enough, “if I watched? I find myself rather … curious.”

Bella’s cheeks heated up again, and she gave Didyme a swift nod. “That’s fine,” Bella said, and then her stomach rumbled. The sound deepened her blush, and she ducked her head with her cheeks feeling aflame, her hair covering her face. “Sorry,” she breathed. 

“There’s no need to apologise,” Didyme said brightly. “As Athenodora is so fond of saying: let’s just fix it,” she hummed. Bella’s stomach dropped a little at the memory of the terrifying pale blonde Queen. She seemed so different from Didyme, it was hard to conceptualise how the two got on. 

“Right. So, food,” Bella said, untucking herself from herself, and giving Didyme a nervous smile. She hated the reminders of how human she was, especially when faced with this marble-made goddess. Thoughts drifted to the front of Bella’s mind: ‘holy and beautiful maiden’. She shook her head, and started to look around the kitchen, pulling out the things she would need to make a simple meal. 

Didyme was full of questions, apparently brimming with earnest curiosity. Bella answered as best as she could: what things were, what they were for, how they tasted. Bella tried. Didyme smiled at her, and nodded her head, absorbing all the new information. 

“I appreciate you being so patient with me,” Didyme said, after a moment’s pause. Her smile had not abated. “It’s all just so fascinating - humanity, I mean. Something I held in my hands once, and can’t remember,” she trailed off, her expression thoughtful. 

“It’s fine. It’s nice, kind of,” Bella said, as she put the finishing touches on her meal. Talking to Didyme felt easy, and she’d not really realised how happy she felt - to have someone to talk to, and having that person be Didyme. There was something about it that just felt right, and it was a welcome distraction from how much Bella would be worrying if she were left without distraction, or if it were Athenodora showing her around. 

Bella brought her plate to the table, setting it down with cutlery, before she sat. Didyme, too, sat. Bella began to eat, careful, slow bites. Didyme looked elsewhere, not wanting to stare. 

“You’ve taught me a lot,” Didyme said, when Bella was halfway through her meal. “And put up with me, which is always pleasant. I’d like to … thank you, I suppose, in a small way. Felix said that you asked for books? Well, how about I show you the library next?”

Bella rushed her mouthful, excitement overtaking her. She nearly choked, but managed to swallow it down. “Really?” she asked, her enthusiasm evident in every aspect of her. 

Didyme smiled kindly, her red eyes glinting. “Really,” she confirmed, nodding her head. She took in Bella’s elatedness at just the prospect of the library, and her smile widened. Gotcha. 

Bella ate her food with much more gusto, rushing through it a little. “I love libraries,” she said between bites. 

“I can see that,” Didyme teased gently. She ran a tanned hand through her long, dark hair, an almost nervous movement. “I’m very proud of our collection,” she continued. “I hope that you’ll enjoy it.”

Bella nodded, and finished up her food, quickly washing up the dishes before turning to Didyme with a bright smile. “Library?” she asked, practically buzzing with her own excitement. 

“To the library,” Didyme agreed, standing up from where she’d sat and making her way towards the door, with Bella following after her. 

The two women walked down more halls, with Bella still doing her best to memorise the route - with an added incentive of being able to know where the library was. 

“We’ve been collecting books for a very long time,” Didyme said, to break up the silence. She didn’t want to risk it becoming an awkward silence rather than a companionable one. “Almost since Volterra became our permanent home. We, the Volturi, didn’t want any barriers between us and ours and learning, so it became something of a hub in our world.” She shrugged. “Athenodora is particularly passionate about non-fiction manuscripts, whereas I tend to prefer literature. What of you?” 

“Oh- I like literature,” Bella said, finding her footing with a familiar topic. “I like the classics, mostly. You know, like Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice and stuff like that. They’re my favourites.”

“Nothing of ancient literature?” Didyme teased. 

“I’ve read the Iliad, and stuff,” Bella said, with a faint little blush on her cheeks once more. “But I never really found my ground with stuff like that. Maybe I need to learn Latin?” 

Didyme laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners, a picture of complete joy, and Bella found her heart beating a little faster. A smile graced Bella’s face, and she wasn’t really sure why she felt so happy. It didn’t make sense, not without Edward, or even Jake, but happiness had been such a scarcity she daren’t question it too much. 

“It’s a wonderful language,” Didyme said, still smiling. “But maybe start with modern Italian. Far less tenses. It can get awfully confusing. I remember having to learn it when Rome became prominent.”

“Oh?” Bella asked, only just holding herself back from asking a series of probably rude questions about Didyme’s age and experiences. 

“Yes, yes, and then the aesthetics lended well to our rule, so we settled down in Italy,” she said, not mentioning how if they hadn’t then they wouldn’t have found Sulpicia, which would have been a great loss to her and Athenodora. 

“That’s interesting,” Bella said. “I guess the Romans were known for law and order.”

“Exactly,” Didyme said, and kept the rest of it close to her chest. She didn’t want to give away all of their secrets, after all. 

The couple approached a pair of double doors. They were tall, arched, and made of a dark wood. They looked old, and heavy. Didyme opened them with ease, and they sounded heavy too. 

“Super strength,” Bella muttered below her breath. She was jealous of that, especially with how weak her body had become. She felt it more now, surrounded by the pinnacle of strength that vampirism represented. 

“It comes in handy. I’m not sure you’d be able to open these doors, but that’ll be a problem for when you know your way around,” Didyme said kindly. She gestured inside, and Bella wandered into the room, her breath was immediately taken away. She spun around, taking in the room full to the brim of books. 

Calling the room a library seemed to do it an injustice - it was so much more than that. There were several levels, each with floor to ceiling bookcases on each wall. Several comfortable looking chairs studded the ground floor, with nearby desks for studying. 

“Wow,” Bella breathed, her eyes sparkling with all kinds of enthusiasm for the room she’d just entered. “This is… this is just wow.” 

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Didyme said. There was a small curve of a smile on her face, in her voice. 

“Can I?” Bella asked, gesturing out towards the books. She looked at Didyme only long enough to see her nod, before she moved off towards the shelves, looking over them with a keen eye. 

Bella took in the spines of the books, reading titles, and authors. Her gaze was reverent. Her mouth moved as she mouthed things to herself, so quiet that even Didyme couldn’t hear. She bounced her leg as she stood, her excitement needing an outlet. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this enthusiastic about anything. It felt a little like the sunshine: a welcome relief. 

Didyme smiled, and a wicked part of her brain repeated: gotcha. Gotcha. It was a vicious segment that Didyme preferred to ignore. Instead, she took a step further into the room, looking over the aged leather bindings, and modern, the scrolls and the paperbacks. “You seem happier,” she commented, keeping her voice light. “You’re really that enthusiastic about books?” 

“They make everything better,” Bella said, her voice a step away from complete devotion, lodging somewhere in reverence. “I haven’t … I haven’t really had much of an appetite for reading, recently,” she admitted, her voice a breath, a secret she didn’t know why she was revealing. “I hope that that’s over now.” 

Didyme let out a little sigh, inaudible to her company. The road to her heart: books, clearly. “I’ll formally extend an invitation to you to come here whenever you want.”

“Really?” Bella asked, only just avoiding cutting Didyme off. Her cheeks were a little flushed still - embarrassment and excitement twining together in a heady rush. 

“Really,” Didyme repeated patiently. “I don’t know if Felix explained to you or not, but we’ve put him in charge of overseeing your welfare for the time being,” she said, looking to Bella who nodded in comprehension before she continued, her voice almost imperceptibly louder than it was, “so if you just speak his name a little louder than your normal tone, he’ll hear. He’ll be nearby. So, if you do that, and ask him to take you to the library, he’ll be more than happy to help.” 

Bella nodded, the blush in her cheeks fading away to her normal colour. She’d just have to get over her embarrassment of asking for help, especially if the payoff was the ability to spend time in a library as grand as this one. She glanced between the books and Didyme, and let out a little hum to herself. “Okay,” she said softly, and then: “thank you. I wasn’t really expecting hospitality like this.” 

“Of course,” Didyme said, “you’re in a frightful situation. Anything we can do to make it easier; it’s not like you’re being punished, my dear. Certainly not imprisoned. We’re just taking precautions.” 

“No, yeah, I understand that now, I think. Certainly better than I did before.” 

Didyme just nodded, allowing the companionable, comfortable silence to soak back into the air between them. She idly looked over a few books she wanted to read, while Bella did the same more earnestly. Didyme was certain she could feel enjoyment rolling off Isabella in waves, and for some inexplicable reason that suited Didyme very much. 

Isabella wandered off, tracing her fingers over the fine wood edge of a carefully cared for bookshelf, feeling the smooth, cool texture beneath her touch. She moved on, touching the spines of the book, stroking down the buttery leather. Her touch was careful, gentle, the way one touched precious things. 

“Did-Didyme?” Bella asked, her voice hesitant. She cringed as her relatively scratchy voice broke the silence - she’d never been self-conscious of her voice before she’d met them. 

“Yes, dear?” Didyme asked, her response immediate, from where she’d settled on an overstuffed armchair with a book perched on her lap. 

“Do you mind if I read?” She asked, with customary hesitation in her voice. She didn’t remember being this uncertain in times past, either. 

“Of course,” Didyme said, good naturedly, declining to comment on her uneasiness; Bella found herself becoming even more endeared to her with that. With the easy way she was, allowing things to slide off her back with all the grace you’d expect of a Queen. 

“Thank you,” Isabella said, picking up the book she’d selected and carrying it over to another chair near where Didyme had established her own territory. 

Isabella sat, cracking open the book with careful, familiar fingers. She began reading, happiness filling her up like an empty bottle, relishing in the feeling, in each word, in each second in Didyme’s presence. It gave her a moment of pause, in which she stilled the turning of the pages with her quick fingers, and she thought: she wasn’t used to feeling so comfortable with another person so quickly, never mind one whose red eyes screamed fear in every part of her that spoke sense. She wasn’t sure when she had made the leap from enemy to companion, but it was clear to her she had. 

Isabella let out a little sigh, her fingers tracing the edge of the pages. She peaked through her eyelashes at Didyme, letting her hair fall over her face with little protest. 

“Is everything alright, dear?” Didyme asked, a note of amusement hidden in the depths of her treacle-voice. 

“I- yes,” Bella squeaked, her cheeks heating in a familiar rush again. “Sorry!” 

Didyme just glanced up and smiled at her, allowing the two of them to fall into a familiar, comfortable silence once more. 

Isabella cursed herself; Didyme was still a Queen. There was no room for forgetting that, no matter all of the nice feelings that overtook her and made her want to forget. How nice Didyme seemed, and how like the sunshine she was. The human girl shook her head to herself, and got back to reading. 

————————————————————————

Isabella only looked up again once it was dark, hearing her own stomach rumble. Didyme looked up too, and carefully placed her book on the side table near her armchair. 

“I’ve been neglecting you,” Didyme said, shaking her head. “I’m frightfully sorry, dear. I forget that humans need food more often than I remember.” 

“It’s fine,” Isabella said quickly. She added, with a little laugh in her voice: “it looks like I forgot, too. It was a very engrossing book.” 

Didyme laughed softly, a sound like a baby cooing. “Take it with you,” she instructed, waving her hand. “And then you can finish it. I apologise that my tour ended up being only of the kitchen and the library.” 

Bella shook her head again. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” she said, surprising herself with how true that was — the library was worth it all, in her mind — but spending time with Didyme had been much more pleasant than she realised it would have been. 

Didyme stood up, and Bella did too. Only the latter stretched out her muscles, the book still held in her grasp. 

“I’ll take you back to the kitchen,” Didyme said, “before your stomach makes its displeasure known again.” 

“Thank you.” 

Didyme nodded, leading Bella out of the library, treading the unfamiliar - even to her - path back towards the kitchen. 

“I should mention,” Didyme said, “I believe that Sulpicia would like a chance to have a chat with you tomorrow, to welcome you herself.” 

“O-oh. Right.”

“Sulpicia’s nothing to be scared of,” Didyme lied. “She’s just … exuberant, shall we say.” 

“I suppose she didn’t seem mean, or anything,” Isabella said, leaving unsaid that Athenodora did. 

Didyme smiled, practically reading Isabella’s mind. “She just wants to make sure you’re settling in well enough.”

Bella nodded, as the two of them reached the kitchen. She immediately set her book down and got to cooking herself a meal. 

“Thank you for bothering to spend time with me today,” Bella said, a little shyly. “I appreciate it. Especially you showing me the library.” 

“You’re very welcome,” Didyme said, with a soft smile. “I should thank you for indulging me, in fact. I enjoyed it.”

“I’m really glad,” Bella said quietly, a little distracted by her cooking endeavours. 

The rest continued on in the same silence that Bella had grown attached to in the short time she’d spent with Didyme as she cooked, ate, and cleaned up after herself. Didyme smiled, and chatted vaguely the whole time, before showing Isabella back to her chambers. 

“Here you are,” Didyme said, smiling and gesturing grandly to the door. “I believe you should have some new clothes waiting for you, hopefully that will make you feel more at home.”

“Thank you,” Bella said, her eyebrows drawn together in sincerity. “For everything you’ve done today.”

Didyme nodded. Bella bid her farewell before entering her room. Didyme smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Sulpicia smirked to herself and knocked on the door leading to Isabella’s room. Didyme had reported back to her and Athenodora, and Sulpicia found it heartening. Forging a relationship with a potentially strong ally was never a bad idea, in Sulpicia’s book. 

Bella heard the knock, and scrambled to her feet from her curled up position, reading again. She put the book down, and smoothed her hands over the fabric of her newly acquired jeans. She made her way to the door, feeling a fluttering in her stomach as she did so - Sulpicia had seemed the most in control, and thus intimidating. Bella would prefer not to do this, but Didyme had been much kinder than she had been expecting yesterday. 

She opened the door with a little too much exertion in her nervous state, and it swung open quickly. Unfortunately, Bella’s foot had been in the path of the door. “Ouch,” she cried, hopping in place for a moment as her foot throbbed, hot and immediate. 

Sulpicia looked on for a heartbeat, before taking the opportunity. “Oh, you poor thing,” she said, and did her best not to make it sound as patronising as it desired to be when leaving her throat. “I can only imagine how that must hurt. Please, sit down, take your weight off it.”

Bella nodded, as on edge as she was, she knew the sensibility of the suggestion. She hobbled over to a nearby chair, and took a seat. 

“You’re Sulpicia, right?” Bella asked, her nerves making her voice shake like an inexperienced tightrope walker. 

Sulpicia almost bristled at the disrespect, but she tempered it down. “I am. And you’re Isabella.” 

“You can just call me Bella,” Bella said, her cheeks flushed as she flexed her toes to make sure nothing was broken. “If you want to, I mean, I prefer Bella to Isabella.” 

“I see,” Sulpicia said, suppressing the eye twitch she could feel coming. Part of her was already growing bored with this. Why did Didyme think this was a good idea, again? She reminded herself of the reasons, and took heart. “How’s your foot feeling?” She asked, making sure her voice stayed gentle. 

“Better,” Bella said at once, her cheeks darkening in memory of her clumsiness. “Nothing’s broken, I don’t think, at least.”

“How fortuitous,” Sulpicia said with a slight incline of her head. “It would be a shame for you to be injured under our care,” she continued. The honey-blonde reached up a hand to run through her hair, and Bella’s eyes followed the path. She thought of Helen of Troy, Sulpicia certainly had a beauty that could only be described as devastating. Bella wouldn’t be surprised to learn that wars had been waged in her name, for her face, for a slight smile. Bella shook her head, trying to clear the traitorous thoughts out from her brain - she wasn’t sure where this kind of thinking had come from, but she couldn’t call it productive in any sense of the word. It was distracting at best, and potentially lethal at worst. 

“I know you spent the day with Didyme yesterday, I understand she showed you the library,” Sulpicia continued, completely glossing over Bella’s decidedly awkward silence. “There are still a few places we wanted to show you - as our guest, you understand - so I thought I might do that and make sure you’re settling in well. Carlisle is an old friend, it wouldn’t do to neglect you.” 

Bella nodded; there wasn’t the simple ease of Didyme’s company, but Sulpicia seemed nice - or at least that she was trying to be nice - and that counted in Bella’s estimation. “That sounds agreeable,” she said, and then cursed herself for not sounding at all like herself. There was some part of her, deep inside, that desired nothing more than to impress these three women. She wasn’t sure if it was the teacher’s pet reaction, where authority needed to be impressed, or if it were due to some other reason she didn’t care to analyse. She supposed it didn’t really matter, after all. 

Sulpicia quirked an eyebrow. It was interesting in a brief distraction kind of way, and that was all she needed to get through the day. Though she put aside her desire to take the human girl apart; Didyme wouldn’t be impressed with her if she broke the girl, and when Didyme wasn’t impressed Sulpicia rarely got her way. The blonde was starting to think this was far more trouble than it was worth. 

“After me, then, darling,” Sulpicia said breezily, gesturing out towards the hallway. “Provided you can walk, that is, of course.”

Bella nodded and stood, testing weight on her foot and finding that it didn’t throb, so she smiled. “All good,” she said, her voice quivering a little with anxiety as she realised she’d definitely gotten herself into a rather strange situation. It really didn’t feel like how it had with Didyme, and she found herself almost missing the company of the dark haired Queen. 

Bella moved out into the hallway, following Sulpicia’s movements - she moved like water, Bella thought, there was a fluid grace. She was honey and Helen and golden-armed. The brunette girl’s throat ran dry as she tried to think of some topic of conversation that would appeal to someone like Sulpicia. She failed. Instead, she trod on familiar ground. 

“Do you like the library?” she asked, her voice meek and mild. 

Sulpicia made a non-committal gesture. “It has its uses,” she said, as if that were a reasonable answer. “I heard you were very impressed by it,” she continued, after a pause. 

“I was. I’ve never seen a library as big as that, never mind it just being a personal collection.”

“Everything the Volturi does is impressive,” Sulpicia shrugged. 

Isabella chewed on her lower lip for a moment, swallowing through a lump in her throat. She searched for courage inside of herself. It was all too apparent that Sulpicia was different from Didyme, that where Didyme was kind Sulpicia only tried to be. “Where… where are we going?” Bella finally asked. 

“Oh,” Sulpicia said. “I suppose it’s a bad look if I don’t tell you. A bit too close to kidnapping.” She waved a hand again, “it’s a… how do you say?... a museum, I suppose.”

“A … museum? In here?”

“Museum is the best word I have for it,” Sulpicia said, an edge of irritation in her voice that made Bella falter for a few steps. “Or maybe a collection. Our collection of nice things we show to our guests. I thought it might be nice for you to know some of our history since you’re here until the Cullen coven returns.”

“Right,” Bella said, a little blandly. She swallowed, and recovered the ground lost from her faltering. “That sounds quite nice, actually. It’s … thoughtful.” Bella wasn’t actually sure thoughtful was the right word for it, but she wasn’t willing to risk upsetting Sulpicia any more. 

The two walked down numerous hallways with a terse silence between them, Bella thinking of ways to break it and coming up short. Eventually, she determined it was better to just remain silent. Eventually the pair reached yet another oversized wooden door; Bella had no idea where they were, she’d given up trying to follow the circular, winding path to the doorway now in front of them. It seemed as though the secrets of the castle would always remain secrets to her. 

“Here we are,” Sulpicia said, rather grandly with a gesture to the door. She opened it, looking for all the world like it was the easiest thing when Bella knew the door must weigh a tonne. 

Bella’s gaze was immediately drawn by the spectre of shiny things within the room - grand statues, and elaborate jewellery. She felt like she might be a magpie, her eyes drawn to shiny thing after shiny thing. Isabella had always had a soft spot for history, the place when all of her favourite books took place. It had never been allconsuming, but it had been passable. “What.. what is all this?” she asked, a soft note of reverence in her voice. 

“Various.. I suppose you’d call them trophies of our rule,” Supicia said, with a carefully calculated careless shrug. “You seem like an educated young woman, and in my experience educated young women enjoy things like this.”

“It’s very impressive. May I look?” Bella asked, and in answer received an expansive gesture outwards, a ‘go ahead’ motion. She took a few steps forward, into the belly of the treasure trove. 

Bella’s gaze flittered between some marble statues and carefully looked-after oil paintings. She made her way towards a section of art pieces, her gaze taking in all the tiny details as much as she could with her fallible human eyesight. 

Sulpicia’s careful gaze was fixed on the girl, her red eyes focused on Isabella’s small frame. Her mind worked, turning over and over about benefits and drawbacks. Among mortal women, know this, Sulpicia thought: the girl knew too much already. It was a strange kind of limbo, the vampire supposed. She tapped her lower lip with a soft fingertip, taking in the sights and considering angles. Bella, for her part, seemed thoroughly content to be left be. 

“What’s this?” Bella asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between the two of them. 

Sulpicia moved further into the room, allowing her eyes to focus on the object that Bella was gesturing towards. “Ah,” she said, as the ostentatious necklace was brought into view. It was a many-stranded thing, covered with all kinds of sparkling delights. “That’s from the 1700s,” she said softly, her voice oozing around the words, thick and viscous, “a memento, I suppose you could say, I wore it to many a ball in its time, some very interesting politicking happened back then.” 

“Interesting politicking?” Bella asked, her voice small in her throat. She might be surrounded by all kinds of treasures, but she couldn’t ignore the part of her brain that still screamed ‘danger’ in Sulpicia’s presence. 

“There were times when people sought to overthrow us, to find holes in our rule,” Sulpicia said, “and it was quite engaging to deal with that.” She notably left out how irritating it had been too; Sulpicia enjoyed challenges, but she had never been one to enjoy having her position questioned. As far as she was concerned everybody should listen to her, and be done with it. 

Bella didn’t bring up that she wasn’t sure she’d use the word engaging. “I see,” Bella said, “do you deal with that kind of thing often?” 

“Not often, I wouldn’t say often. It is rather infrequent, just every now and then somebody gets the idea into their head, and they try their luck. They never succeed, and they never will.”

“That’s certainly a … bold declaration.”

Sulpicia laughed, a sound like chiming bells; something utterly intangible. “It’s been long enough,” she said, “but I suppose Rome lasted for a while before She fell. We have the luxury of constancy and hindsight.”

Bella fell into silence, looking at the way the light caught the gems in the necklace. She was struck by a profound sense of her own humanity; could she really comprehend what it would be like to be unchanging? To be human was to be dynamic, ever. Call it instability, or call it life. For the first time, Bella truly thought about what it might mean to be immutable, enduring, eternal. 

“I suppose,” Bella said softly, finally, after a surprisingly companionable silence stretched between the two women, one honey-haired and the other brunette. “I don’t think I could imagine what it’s like to be one of you,” she said, and it felt peculiarly like a confession. 

“It is a rather unique position to be in,” Sulpicia said, trying to make it sound less like a boast and more like comiseration. Just because she was sure of her own superiority, didn’t mean she didn’t know not to inflict it on other people. 

“I bet,” Bella sighed, a wistful tone to her voice. “It’s all I wanted, you know?” She whispered, not really sure why she was opening up to Sulpicia. “To be one of you, and he wouldn’t have it.” 

“Edward?” Sulpicia asked, and her reply was a nod of the head of Bella. Sulpicia shook her own head, honey blonde hair fanning itself around her lovely face. “He is an odd one, with his beliefs. Most vampires don’t give much thought to the metaphysical,” she said, with an errant shrug. 

“I can imagine,” Bella muttered, underneath her breath - she was thinking about James, and absentmindedly rubbed the bite mark on her wrist. 

“What is that?” Sulpicia asked, her curiosity brimming. 

“Oh… this,” Bella said, gesturing to the bite on her wrist. “I got bitten by a vampire; he was hunting me down.” 

“Bitten and not turned? Odd,” Sulpicia remarked. 

“Edward sucked the venom out,” she said softly, “I still remember how much it hurt, though. I can’t imagine that for three days.” 

“It is near unbearable,” Sulpicia said, with another little casual shrug. “But the memory of the pain fades, and eventually you forget what pain properly feels like. Aside from Jane.” 

Sulpicia had never asked the child to use her powers on herself, but there are days when it came close — days when she longed to feel anything. She was surrounded by love, though, and that was enough. Wouldn’t it be enough for anybody? 

“I think it’s an alright price to pay,” Bella mused, chewing on her lower lip between her words. “Three days of pain for an eternity of being like you. It’s worth it, as far as I’m concerned. It’s just Edward who seems to disagree. I love him so much, I just don’t understand how our views can be so different.” 

Sulpicia decided against verbalising the scorn that she held in her heart for the ‘young’ boy. “Sometimes it’s about collaborating to find the best answer, rather than a battle of wills,” she said, in a ghostlike facsimile of good advice. 

“I suppose,” Bella sighed; if nothing else it had given her a lot to think about. “What’s that?” She asked, gesturing to an object she barely saw — all she wanted was a break from heavier topics. 

Sulpicia answered, and thus began a back and forth of questions and replies about the contents of the treasury. 

Time, surprisingly, flew. Before she had time to register her hunger, her stomach was rumbling, making its intentions incredibly clear. 

“What a funny sound,” Sulpicia said, a little rudely. “What does it mean?” 

“Uh, that I’m hungry.” 

“Hungry! Of course! I forget humans need to consume much more readily than we do,” the blonde queen said, clapping her hands together once. 

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Bella said, a little unsurely. 

“Fear not, I shall take you to the kitchen presently,” Sulpicia said, her smile genial. She quickly led Bella back through the labyrinthine corridors to the kitchen, depositing her there. 

“I’ll take my leave, if you don’t object,” she said softly. “Once you’re finished all you need to do is call Felix and he’ll be here to guide you back to your chambers.” 

Bella nodded, looking over the queen and she felt a heat cover her cheeks. “Sure. Uh, thank you,” she said, her voice gentle and unsure. 

“You’re very welcome,” Sulpicia said, “prego.” She inclined her head before she left the room, leaving behind a faint trace of her scent in the room - something warm and rich. 

Bella busied herself with cooking so she didn’t have to examine what was going on in her head too deeply. She made a meal, ate it, and tidied away before calling, “Felix.” 

In less than half a second he was there, stuck in place and looking slightly disheveled. 

“Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said, an eyebrow arched at how messy Felix looked. 

“Not at all,” Felix said, “there is no higher calling than my duty to you,” he continued on, which kind of made Bella feel a little uncomfortable. She shifted where she stood. 

“Can you show me back to my room? I’ve almost got it down, I promise you won’t have to do this much longer,” she said. 

“Fret not, little human,” said Felix cheerily. Bella thought she should be more accustomed to his good humour than she already was. His smile, however, was just a little too sharp. It was a common theme with the undead, Bella had found — they were always just a little off. 

Bella decided just to nod, it seemed the more prudent of her options. “Who’s fretting?” she added, after a pause that lasted just a beat too long, and it was clear Felix was waiting for some kind of verbal confirmation. “You’re my favourite, Felix. Don’t tell.”

Felix let out a booming laugh, and gestured out into the hall. “I won’t,” he said, and led her back to her room as requested.


End file.
